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Office of Consumer and Family Affairs

Mission:
The purpose of the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs (OCFA) is to empower individuals living with mental health and /or addiction issues and their family members by assuring their interests are represented and their input is considered in DMHA planning and policy development.

The Office of Consumer and Family Affairs also provides technical assistance and oversight to consumer and family-controlled organizations who apply for, receive, and implement FSSA grants and/or contracts.

Mission in action:
The goals of OFCA are summed up in four objectives:

Provide an internal voice for persons persons in recovery and/or with lived experience and family members within DMHA through participation in DMHA planning and policy development activities.

Actively work with national, state, and local consumer and family organizations in order to establish ongoing communication, disseminate information, and identify major issues. The Office provides a state-level voice for these issues, consultation, technical assistance, and ongoing support to those organizations.

Cultivate and maintain leadership groups, such as the Indiana Recovery Council to advise DMHA and appoint consumer and family representatives to the state Mental Health and Addiction Planning and Advisory Council.

Develop, implement and monitor special projects, including focus groups, to solicit consumer and family input. Identify, orient, and involve consumers in DMHA planning activities.

What can we offer you?
The Office of Consumer and Family Affairs (OCFA) is committed to the training of consumers and families in effective advocacy skills. Advocacy and leadership training are a growing part of OCFA strategy. Advocacy training works to build the skills necessary to advocate on many levels, either to improve your personal medical treatment plan or to bring people together to work toward systems change. OCFA supports groups who do advocacy training as it relates to the overall strategy of DMHA, consumers, and family members statewide.

Facts:

DMHA Office of Consumer and Family Affairs is committed to working with the broader mental health community.

DMHA actively works with national, state and local consumer/peer and family organizations.

Peers have multiple barriers to overcome when living in communities including: stigma associated with their illness, lack of income or a job, lack of appropriate health care, and a lack of housing.

Persons with mental health and /or addiction issues should be able to: